Malawi set to host three presidential debates as part of the 2025 Tripartite Elections, giving citizens a chance to scrutinize candidates before the polls on September 16, 2025.
A multi-stakeholder taskforce is organizing the debates, which will be held at the Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) on August 21, August 29, and September 4, 2025.
These will be the third presidential debates in the country’s history, with the first taking place during the country’s first Tripartite Elections in 2014.
The 2025 debates taskforce consists of MISA Malawi, Media Council of Malawi, Malawi Broadcast Cooperation (MBC), Times Group, Zodiak Broadcasting Station, Nation Publications Limited, and Mibawa Television.
Other participating organizations include The Centre for Multiparty Democracy (CMD), Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC), Malawi Law Society (MLS), Public Affairs Committee (PAC), NGO Gender Coordination Network (NGO-GCN), National Youth Council of Malawi (NYCOM), Political Scientist Association of Malawi (PSAM), National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE), Centre for Human Rights Rehabilitation (CHRR), Civil Society Agriculture Network (CISANET), NextGen Leaders Association (NEGLA), Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP), and National Democratic Institute (NDI).
Speaking at a press briefing in Lilongwe on Monday, Golden Matonga, Chairperson of the Taskforce on Presidential Debates, stated that the taskforce believes the events will provide a platform for candidates to openly discuss and commit to addressing key policy issues.
Matonga, who is also the Chairperson of MISA Malawi, said the debates aim to shift the focus of elections away from personality politics, religious, and tribal identities, which have historically characterized Malawi’s political environment.
“Past election observer reports show that Malawi’s political environment during elections is characterized by personal issues, religious, and tribal identities as points for garnering support, with discussion of critical issues of national importance nonexistent or pushed to the periphery,” Matonga said.
He added that the debates will provide a platform for open participatory democracy and a basis to hold elected officials accountable for their campaign promises, which is a necessary condition for the country’s national development. Organizing the 2025 debates gives Malawians the opportunity to scrutinize candidates and elect those with the necessary competencies to lead the country.
Five candidates confirm their availability for the debates
The taskforce has confirmed that five presidential candidates will participate in the debates after meeting at least seven of the eight required criteria. Matonga noted that initially, six presidential candidates were expected to participate, but following the alliance of the Democratic Progressive Party and the Alliance for Democracy (AFFORD), one was dropped.
The candidates who will face off in the debates are Malawi Congress Party President, Dr. Lazarus Chakwera; Democratic Progressive Party President, Professor Peter Mutharika; United Democratic Front President, Atupele Muluzi; People’s Party President, Dr. Joyce Banda; and United Transformation Movement President, Dr. Dalitso Kabambe.
According to Bornaface Chiwabana Executive Director for Centre for Multiparty Democracy (CMD) said the taskforce developed a set of eight criteria, of which a candidate must meet seven, to ensure that only realistic and viable candidates participate. These criteria were developed by considering international best practices from countries like Kenya, Nigeria, Canada, and the United States.
The eight criteria are: The candidate/party/coalition must have successfully completed their registration with the Malawi Election Commission (MEC), must have been represented in the recently dissolved Parliament, A policy platform or manifesto must have been developed and publicly presented before the first debate, and the candidate/party/coalition must demonstrate an active national campaign.
The candidate/party/coalition must have the ability to field no less than 50% of candidates in the member of parliament and ward councillor elections, proportionally distributed across all three regions of the country, must be able to demonstrate a national level of presence with organizational structures across the country, must have agreed to a commitment to non-violence and to follow the debate Code of Conduct, must have conducted democratic internal elections and the candidate’s party must be a member of the Centre for Multiparty Democracy (CMD).
“The purpose of these criteria is to identify candidates with a realistic chance of being elected,” he said. “We cannot have all 17 candidates taking part in the debates; we have chosen those with realistic chances and have met the criteria. This will allow us to have quality discussions.” Chiwabana also expressed expectations that candidates will “expound on the policy issues that we are grappling with as a country so that Malawians have a wider view on options when it comes to choosing the next leader”.
A recent study by the Institute for Public Opinion Research (IPOR) shows that Malawians value and support the need for the presidential debates. The study found that 61% of Malawians would be interested in seeing their presidential candidate take part in the debates. Furthermore, 77% reported that the debates are an important factor in their decision-making on which presidential candidate to vote for, with 51% citing that it is very important.
